


About a Dad

by winryofresembool



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, father-son conversations, maybe a bit hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-02-01 04:53:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21385642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winryofresembool/pseuds/winryofresembool
Summary: Ed tells his son about his dad.
Relationships: Edward Elric/Original Character(s), Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell
Comments: 4
Kudos: 29





	About a Dad

**Author's Note:**

> It's Father's day in Finland so I thought this would be an appropriate time to post this! Please enjoy and review!

”Dad? Could you tell me a story?”  
5-year-old Alan Rockbell-Elric was sick in his bed, getting bored. He had already done everything he could: gone through his picture books, made a lego castle, drawn an automail leg he would build as a “big boy” and even played cards with his dad. He had tried to sleep too, but the sandman didn’t seem to find his way into the boy’s room. Ed, who had been watching over him, had been planning to go to see his pregnant wife who tended to overwork herself. However, Alan’s request melted him and he decided it wouldn’t hurt to stay a little while longer.  
“Sure thing, Shrimp!” he exclaimed. “What would you like to hear about?”  
Alan thought about it for a little while and then asked: “What was it like when you were a kid?” The question was perfectly innocent. Ed knew his son had no idea about his past, but he’d prefer to keep it that way. When he remained quiet, Alan continued: “What was your dad like? You never talk about him!”  
That was a weirdly observant question for such a young boy, and Ed decided that he’d tell as much as he could, without revealing some of the details that could scare his son.  
“My dad… my dad wasn’t home a lot. He left when I was 4, so I don’t remember much about that time. Just that my mum was sad a lot after he left.”  
“Oh… why did he leave?” Alan asked curiously. An older person probably would have left that question unasked, but he really wanted to know.  
“He… he had a mission. He had to do something important to protect us all, but for some reason, he never told us about it. Maybe he thought we were too young to hear it. I don’t know. I never got to know.” There was some bitterness in Ed’s voice, but he tried to tone it down the best he could because he didn’t want to worry his son.  
“Then what happened?” Alan urged his father to continue.  
“I met him again when I was 16. Turned out that… the thing that wanted to attack us was ready to do it, but my father had managed to set him a trap. Without his help… well, none of us would probably be here now.” Ed noticed his son’s worried expression and quickly added: “but it doesn’t matter. Because we are. And we are safe now and that thing is somewhere where he can never hurt you.” Ed clenched his fist with anger because of the memories of Father.  
“So…” Alan tried to collect the information he had just heard. “In the end your dad protected you, right? That means he cared about you, right?”  
“Yeah… I guess so,” Ed admitted. “I just… never got a chance to talk to him properly. Tell him what I felt and ask him why he had never tried to reach us.”  
“Why? I mean, why couldn’t you ask him?”  
“Because he… he disappeared when Al and I were admitted into the hospital – we had some injuries that had to be taken care of – and he died while we were there. Apparently he had come to see my mum…”  
Alan didn’t quite understand what Ed meant with the last sentence because he knew that grandma Trisha had died a long time ago, but he didn’t question it. Ed continued, trying to cheer up the mood a bit:  
“But granny Pinako told us that he had died with a smile on his face. He was very old… and ready to go. I guess it was enough for him to see that we were healthy and happy…”  
Ed knew that Alan would probably miss the full meaning behind his comments, but somehow it still felt good to let some of these thoughts out.  
I would have liked to meet him,” Alan noted simply.  
“Yeah…” Ed said absentmindedly. “Anyway, I want you to know one thing. It’s that no matter what situation, your mother and I are always here for you. I didn’t always have that, and I… I don’t want you to go through that… ever.”  
“Thanks, dad,” Alan smiled at Ed, and he ruffled his son’s hair affectionately.  
“You’re welcome, son.” Suddenly Ed found his protective side again and asked: “How are you feeling, by the way? Do you need anything? Medicine? Hot drink?”  
“No dad, I’m fine! I think I’m feeling better already!” Alan yelped and pushed his dad a little farther.  
“You’re feisty! Just like your mother.” Ed snorted.  
“What?” the two men heard a familiar, more feminine voice by the door. “Ed, were you just telling our son he’s gotten his feistiness from me?”  
“No, Winry, why would I tell him that?” Ed lied quickly, but obviously he had been caught. Winry leaped forward far faster than you’d think considering she was 6 months into her pregnancy, and soon all 3 of them were a laughing pile in Alan’s bed after an intense tickling contest.  
“Oh, son, your mother always has to get the final word in this household,” Ed said while wiping the tears of laughter out of his face.  
“Don’t worry, dad, the next time we’ll get her!”  
“Oh, we’ll see about that!”


End file.
